We ask you to report on how much money you spend on 1.) groceries, including fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and packaged grocery items like canned goods, pantry items, drinks, etc. and 2.) prepared foods from restaurants or prepared food businesses, including food trucks, pop-ups, takeout, and traditional restaurants. First, we will ask how much of your food purchases are locally grown and produced and then we will ask you about other purchases. This way we can add these and calculate the percent of your purchases that are local.
To make it easier, you can include your total grocery and restaurant purchases from retailers and restaurants that prioritize local in the locally produced question even if some of that food may not have been sourced locally. This way you don’t have to split up the cost of your salad at a restaurant that includes a mix of local and non-local produce. While some supermarkets may offer local products, the majority are not. If you shop at regular supermarkets and make an effort to choose locally grown and produced foods, you can choose to separate those out and include in the locally produced question. The important thing is to stay consistent with what you report so we can see changes over time.
We also ask you to report on household food spending, but if you share the food purchasing responsibilities with someone else in your household, you can provide an estimate or report just for what you buy yourself. If you chose to do this, just make sure you only include purchases you make yourself in future weeks.